Georgetown County, SC Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Georgetown County's Development Regulations (the subdivision ordinance codified as Appendix B of the County Code) fold landmark and significant tree protection into the grading standards a developer must meet before building a new subdivision road. Under Article V, Section 2-3(B), a subdivider must clear the entire right-of-way of trees, stumps, roots and brush before grading starts, but the ordinance carves out a specific exception: significant and landmark trees are exempt from that clearing requirement. Instead of removal, the developer must install tree protection prior to any land disturbance around every significant or landmark tree standing within the right-of-way that is being retained.

Where a developer wants to deviate from the standard right-of-way grading because of topography or the presence of significant trees, Section 2-3(B) requires special approval of the Planning Commission rather than allowing the deviation as of right, giving the Commission case-by-case control over whether a tree can be worked around instead of protected in place. The code does not define "significant" or "landmark" tree anywhere in the Development Regulations, and outside this right-of-way clearing rule the code contains no separate landmark-tree designation program, permit, or private-property protection standard; the county's Zoning Ordinance, a separate instrument not included in this code, is the more likely home for any broader canopy or specimen-tree rules.

Enforcement rides on the Development Regulations' general violations clause, Article I, Section 7: any person or corporation who violates a provision of the ordinance is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $25 to $100 or 10 to 30 days in jail for each lot or parcel involved, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense. The Planning Commission reviews compliance at preliminary and final plat approval, before recording.